Anyone shoot trap with Bell's Palsy?

Last week I developed a condition known as Bell's Palsy. It has something to do with one of the nerve's in your face going numb. Supposed to go away in 6-8 weeks, but I have trouble closing my eye to blink so it keeps drying out. Wondered if any other shooters had to deal with this problem and how you overcame it.

Last year just before the Pa.State Shoot,I was diagnosed with Bell"s Palsy.I was treated with strong dosages of antibotics and steroids.I tried shooting but couldn't really compete due to the watery eyes.I understand that Iwas lucky because most of the symptoms were gone in two weeks
Ray Brightbill.

Keep that eye moist with artificial tears anywhere from 4x a day to every 15 minutes if you need to. The eye is really prone to infection when it is drying out. Over time things should return mostly or completely to normal. Refresh liqui-gel or one of the other liquid gel like products stay in the eye longer. If the eye doesn't close well at night consider taping it closed, put a tissue under a patch using the pressure to keep it closed or use an artificial tears ointment at night. Ask the pharmacist.

John - Thanks for the concern. You must be a doctor because you gave me the same instruction my doctor gave me. I have been using the artificial tears throughout the day and taping my eye shut at night just as you recommended.

Had it few years ago brought on by Lyme's disease. It was on the right side and I am a lefty. Used artifical tears frequently and dark sun glasses with side shields for shooting. I was able to keep the eyelid closed at night for some strange reason so didn't have to put stuff on it at night.

Scores didn't suffer much and for me was able to blink again in a couple weeks. Good improvement first few months and then took 6 to 9 months to gain 95% of the nerves back. An interesting quirk for me was that when a nerve was about to recover it would twitch for a day or two and then it was back working again. Really a trip. Best of luck!

when mine showed up 30 years ago there was no treatment. Shot my way thru it. Still have weak muscles on the left side of my face. Lost my sense of taste for 2-3 months, the watery eye thing and the numbness finally went away in about a year. I repeat, 30 YEARS ago. Hope things work better for you now.

Had a bout with it about 30 years ago. Really scared the hell out of me. The left side of my face died!!! The doctor diagnosed it, and said it would eventually go away. Thank god he was right. It affected my eyesight, talking, and eating. Hope it goes well for you. Took about 5 weeks for my condition to go away.

i had bells palsy several years ago probably close to 30 years. i had a light case of it awhile back. my symptoms have never gone completely away.i still get nubmness in my lower jaw & i can feel my lip drooping once in awhile .especially when i am very tired. dwain

Yes I did, because it was on my right side, I found that I had to drop my comb down and not lock my cheek into comb. Pushing the cheek up caused the tears to blur my vision. With my cheek just touching the comb, I had to learn to move my head with the gun. The paralysis is gone now, but I still have problems with the tears becoming mucus and sometimes blurring my vision. Washing my eyes with water before each event helps.

My 7 year old girl was diagnosed with Bells Palsy. The Doc said it's very rare in young kids. She had a bite on the same side behind her ear, they took here from the clinic directly to the hospital and did a spinal tap. Thought it may of came from Lyme diease. She was in the hospital for 5 days waiting for the test results to come back They treated it as Lyme diease until they ruled it out. She was on IV Antibiotics the entire time then for 17 days on pills. The test results for Lyme was negative. It's been about 45 days now and it's slowly going away. Kind of a scary deal for a parent.

The Antibiotics don't really cure it but can help it from reaching the late stages which are much more serious.

If it does not bother you to shoot I don't know why you wouldn't. Keep you eye lubed properly. Head on the stock and eye on the rock.

I had bells about 5 years ago, stemming from lymes,
Had problem with not being able to close eye. local Dr. sent me to freodert hospital in milwaukee Wi.
there they put a gold weight in my eye lid, helped with closing that eye.
condition lasted for over a year. finally had the weight removed after the eye became difficult to hold open.
Worst thing was when i saw the specialist( Dr.Wakum ) i was informed that a minor surgery could have been performed on the nerve canal to relive the pressure an allow the nerve to swell from the infection.

I did continue to shoot the entire time, I wore an eye patch to cover the eye completely for a while. As the muscles regained some strength i had a clear patch made by an optomitrist to fit tight to my face. kept the wind off my eye.
I wore the patch under shooting glasses.

Still have some effects from bells. Eye gets lazy when tired, face still droops. Now have a crooked smile. Good luck with yours hope you recover quickly and completly.